Trump to play "surprise" role at U.S. Republican convention

WASHINGTON, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Donald Trump will play a"surprise" role when the Republican Party kicks off its nationalconvention next week in Tampa, Florida, a party official said onMonday.

The real estate mogul and reality-television star isscheduled to participate in a to-be-revealed fashion on thefirst day of the four-day convention, where Republicans are toformally nominate former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney toface Democratic President Barack Obama in the Nov. 6 election.

Trump's appearance could be an intriguing sideshow at aconvention where Republican officials hope to counter Democrats'efforts to cast Romney as a millionaire who is out of touch withmiddle-class Americans.

Trump will be featured on a day when the evening's headlinespeaker will be Romney's wife, Ann, who often has been deployedby the Romney campaign to portray a more personal side of acandidate who can seem dispassionate and distant.

Trump briefly topped opinion polls when he said he wasexploring a presidential run in the spring of 2011, but he drewwidespread ridicule for advancing discredited theoriesquestioning whether Obama was born in the United States, andtherefore eligible to be president.

The self-promoting Trump has since emerged as one ofRomney's most colorful supporters.

"I am doing something that is going to be, I think, reallyamazing; it'll be great," Trump said last week on the FoxBusiness Network. "We'll see what happens. We'll see how it'sreceived."

Trump is not listed as one of the official speakers on Aug.27, the first day of the convention, but he will participate, aRepublican official confirmed.

"There will be a surprise," the official said.

The time of Trump's appearance on Aug. 27 is unclear. Aschedule that Republicans released Monday indicated that showingdiversity within the party will be a priority during the eveningsession, the prime viewing time for the national TV audience.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, a favorite of the anti-tax,limited-government Tea Party movement and son of RepresentativeRon Paul, another contender for the Republican nomination, alsospeaks on Monday. Rand Paul's participation appears to be anolive branch of sorts to his independent-minded father, who hasnot formally ended his campaign.

Former Obama ally Artur Davis, who like the president isAfrican-American, will reprise a now-standard role at Republicanconventions: the Democratic politician who has growndisillusioned with his party.

A former Alabama congressman who was among Obama's earliestsupporters in the 2008 presidential race, Davis opposed many ofObama's signature policies - such as the president's healthcareoverhaul - during a failed bid for governor of Alabama.

Like Georgia Senator Zell Miller in 2004 and ConnecticutSenator Joe Lieberman in 2008, both former Democrats, Davis isexpected to argue that the Democratic Party has moved too far tothe left.

Other speakers on Aug. 27 include U.S. House ofRepresentatives Speaker John Boehner Of Ohio, Florida GovernorRick Scott and Ted Cruz, who is seeking a U.S. Senate seat fromTexas.

Republicans will announce schedules for the remaining daysof the convention this week, party officials said.